Terminal connecter for toy railways



Jam. 19, 1928. I 1,656,052

A. R. FERGUQSUN TERMINAL CONNECTER FOR TOY RAILWAYS Original Filed Sept.2'7, 1922 l ntented Jlitlliit 1th itlfih v llllllitlllltlthl'ltll C01.

tlrlgiaal application tiled :tepteniher 5W, 19W,

itpri] f3, 15%.

relates to terminal connec and is aappl.n:-a--- lllhis invention lionstor toy or miniature railways division of my c ending allowed i1 1%.carter at, new Patent h e. l in /v a invention is to Plftltitlt) anntinial connect ineans tor i n no rove d ter or po i, ital of a to orminiature railway, w sh means may not only he readily nianui lured at aminimum ojt expense hut lna' y' also eerily manipulated and ttlttp'tctlfor quiet: dctaclnucnt and connection to the toy railway.

i t tnrther object of this invention is to pro ride iinprovcd terminalcon citing means adapted to he quit-lily and easily attached to a wire'li'orn'ied toy railway section and react etached therefrom when desird.

ii tarther object of this invention is to p rovi'de in'iproved quichlydetachable and attachable terminal connecting means adapted to hereleasahly and resilietntl claniped to a wire 'l orined power rail andalso to a wire torined cross tie ither objects of this invention willappear in the tollown description and the appended claim thereolreiterence being had to the imcoinpan ving d" wings forming a part 0tthis specification wherein like reference characters ind'catecorresponding parts in the several views and wherein 1 is a plan viewillustrating nrv improved terminal connecter as applied to a wiretlfornied toy railtray section; is a perspective View illustrating theterntiinal connector means in operative position; 3 is a detailperspeetire view of an element ot the terminal connecter; and lis adetail perspective view of the other element of the terminal connectenBeliore explaining; in detail the present i1nprovenient and mode ofoperation thereof, ll desire to have it understood. that the inventionnot limited to the details of construction and arrangement of partsWhich are illustrated in the accompanying; drawings, since the inventionis capahle oi other eniho'diinents. and that the phraseolog which l:employ is tor the purpose ct description and not of limitation.

The present improved terminal connector means is particularly adaptedtor transmit than the electric current to a toy railway "tl lilo.Milli/till.

tornied lit Illtllit "lltllil" lit!lilj lillltlil'iilv Widen and thisappliez'rttcn filed al lilo, tlhtt'inh having; a it 'e 'itllllilitlthird or power rail n and "wire l'ornied ties or a to; ailway hat- H13:1 cyl nd' ."a-i iliiti tj'lllltltittttl rival third lies. i.llclorrinp' to ll 4. i. it will he seen that the toy railirtrv sectionin commotion with which he present invention is used may coinp suppr"ng; t ll oi cylindrical or wire toiiaed cons ructioin and F aced wiretraction rails 10 ea. 7' therehy. lileiaehahl v mounwl upon the several.supporting; ties 9 and sniitahly insulated. there l'roni a third orpower rail ll, which is prehiraoly oil? r ire torniod or cylindricalconstruction. Lurther difi i ed dei-ieription ol' the to rat any sectionis not deemed nec t,.'il.l' f herein since the same is full de es diedin my atoresaid co-pending application oi" which this application is adi vision. 'lhe current is trans-sunttcd to the electric third or powerrail ll by means (it a pair 0t electric conduits or the usual Wires orcords l2 and i3 which are connected in circuit ilhe cord 12 transmitsthe current to the cylindrical or wire termed power rail 11 by means ofa tern'iinal eleinent generally designated at it. .lhis terminal. lo lis in the form ol a clip or clanip preferably bent up troin a piece oilsheet metal, the side edges adjacent to one end oi the clip lacing hentup or partially coiled to form resilient gripping side walls 15 and 1thproviding therehetween substantially a semi-circular channel or potter1? into which the wirettorn'ied or cylindrical power rail may he sprung.'lf'he base ot the gutter 17 extends rearwardly at 18 in substantiallythe same plane to provide a seat against which the power rail rests, andthe portion 18 at its end is coiled or bent under to embrace theelectric cord 12, the outer insulation thereof having been stripped sothat the bent or coiled portion 19 will he clamped or pressed. tightlyabout the uncovered copper strands of the Wire or cord 12.

T he other terniinal element generally designated at 20 is termedpreterably :lfroni a piece of sheet metal which is first hent up orcoiled to provide a tubular body E21, the juxtapi'ised cdg jlforniinp;an open. slot The rear end o. the hotly member is securely attached tothe copper strands ot the wire or conduit l3 h y panelling or pressing;the opposite sides thereot together so as einhrace the wire as shown litwill thus he seen l lt that the tubular outer end 21 of this connecterelement forms a resilient gripping portion having sufficient spring dueto the slot 22 to permit the conn'ecter element 20 to be slipped overthe free end of the wire or cylindrical tie 9 and at the same timeresiliently grip the same.

In operation the wire 12 with its terminal element 14. transmits thepower directly to the third rail 11, and the wire 13 with its terminalelement 20 is connected to the tie 9 for the purpose of grounding thecurrent. The element 14 may be readily and easily connected to thecylindrical third rail at any desired point or position on the rail,although this clip or clamp is preferably slipped forwardly from itsposition shown in Fig. 1 so as to be wedged between the third rail andthe tongue of the rail connecter or clamp 25, thereby providing a moreperfect electrical contact. The semi-circular Walls 15 and 16 of thisconnecter clip act substantially as resilient gripping jaws which may besprung around the cylindrical third rail and easily detached therefromin the reverse manner. Similarly the resilient tubular portion 21 of theterminal clip or element 20 provides a quick attachable and detachablejoint with the cylindrical tie 9 since it may be slipped on or off theend of the tie and grips the same sufficiently to provide the requiredelectrical contact, and at the same time to prevent inadvertentdetachment.

It is to be understood that by describing in detail herein anyparticular :lorm structure or arrangement, it is not, intended to limitthe invention beyond the terms of the claim or the rcquiren'ients oi theprior art.

Having thus explained the nature oi my said invention and described away oi con structing and using the same, although without attempting toset forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the modesof its use, I claim A quick detachable terminal connector tor connectingan electrical conductor with a wire iormed track portion of a toy track.said connector being formed of resilient sheet metal and having aU-shaped gripping portion adapted to be sprung over the under side ofsaid track portion with the sides thereof gripping opposite sides of thelatter, a transverse, integral portion having a top wall extending inthe plane of the bottom of said gripping portion and bearing against theunderside of said track to position the connector, and a tubularresilient gripping part merging into and disposed below said top walland adapted to grip and irictionally hold said conductor.

Signed at Buffalo, New York, this 28th day of March 1923.

ALAN R. FIGRG USSON.

